


What are friends for

by cassianait



Category: Pink Floyd
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Gen, Silly, gang of idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:28:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29921037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassianait/pseuds/cassianait
Summary: 6 March is a special date, at least for David. Too bad no one else seems to have remembered it.
Kudos: 4





	What are friends for

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I obviously do not own any of Pink Floyd (sob). This is a work of fiction and nothing that is recounted actually happened. No libel or slander is intended.
> 
> Note: story not betated, unfortunately English is not my mother tongue, I hope I did a decent job. Any help or advice is welcome

What are friends for

The auditorium was still echoing with the screams of the audience that was preparing to leave the arena. St. Louis, despite it being early March, was already showing its proverbial sultriness and David shook his long damp hair off his sweaty neck only vaguely annoyed. He was pleased with how the concert had gone, despite the fact that there had been quite a bit of turbulence until they had played money: the Floyds had yet to get used to large stadium audiences, in fact. For a moment it had looked as if Roger was going to smash his bass into the heads of some spectators, luckily instead he had merely muttered his displeasure under his breath. But he had been quite intractable between sets and everyone had preferred to let him cool off on his own. David had just come out of the bathroom and was walking down the dark hallway looking for the others. He stopped for a moment to light a cigarette, inhaled the nicotine at the top of his lungs and coughed. That day, apart from his mother and brothers who had wished him a happy birthday with an expensive intercontinental phone call at his expense, no one seemed to have remembered his birthday. David lifted his shoulders unconcernedly, he had turned twenty-seven not seven, he could do without the birthday party, but he was surprised that not even Rick had remembered: he was usually precise in those things. He scratched his beard and headed for the relaxation area where he could meet the others and pack his things to go back to the hotel. Maybe he'd get himself a present by bringing one of the beautiful girls who were always wandering around backstage, maybe two. His lips curled into a mischievous grin. When he arrived in front of the door to the relaxation area he found Roger with his arms folded, blocking the way.

\- Hey Rog, can you let me in?

\- Nope. 

Was the dry answer. David sighed softly with just a trace of resignation. What the hell was wrong with him now? The bassist lit a cigarette in turn and pinned a strand of unruly hair behind his ear. David, who was a little shorter than him but more solid, gave him a warning glance, making his blue eyes sparkle.

\- Come on get out of my way, I want to leave. 

\- You can't leave. 

\- Why not? We're all leaving, aren't we? What are you up to? 

And he stood up on tiptoe trying to look over Roger's shoulder: he had heard Nick snickering so now he was pretty sure they were up to something. But Roger looked like a marble statue planted sideways at the door not caring about David's attempts to look over.

\- Roger if you don't move in three seconds I'm going to have to do it the hard way.

The other smiled in delight, a challenge! He lived for such things, so he raised the stakes:

\- All right, you can pass, but only if you manage to move my weight within a minute and I'll also offer you a bottle of whisky, one of those expensive ones.

David frowned and moved his lips forward: if it was a fight he wanted, he was ready to satisfy it. He leaned his arms against the bassist's chest in an attempt to dislodge him from his position, but he had stiffened his legs against the floor and was determined to thwart his every attempt. David tried several times without ever managing to move the other guy more than a few inches at a time and he was starting to get pissed off:

\- Come on you stupid idiot let me fucking pass! 

Roger giggled with amusement and as a further disgrace he blew a cloud of smoke in David's face, who was exasperated by that situation and threw himself with all his weight against the bassist. Roger moved abruptly from his position so that, pushed by his own momentum, David catapulted into the room sweeping away anything that was in his path: stools, a table, Phil, one of the rodies, making both end up legs in the air.

\- Hey, when we asked you to hold David down, didn't we also tell you to start a fight with him! 

With one hand Rick helped his friend up from the ground. David in turn helped Phil and apologised, but Phil could hardly contain his laughter.

\- Look around you!

He said to him. David looked up and finally saw the room decorated with several banners of toilet paper that hadn't been there before and the boys wearing silly coloured paper cones. Rick handed him a cardboard wreath and asked rhetorically:

\- Do you really think we would have forgotten your birthday?

\- Happy birthday! 

Nick added, throwing a handful of confetti at him. Someone opened a bottle of champagne and Rick lit a single candle on top of the tiny cake they had found for the occasion. David despite himself opened his lips in a huge, happy smile:

\- Whose idea was it? I bet it was Rick's. You're all a gang of idiots - he turned to Roger -  _ you _ of all people! 

The bassist shrugged and slipped on one of the stupid hats:

\- Best wishes, old man.

[ ](https://postimg.cc/62GXcFwb)  
  


**Author's Note:**

> A tiny little trifle written for the birthday of my beloved David Gilmour who turned 75 this year. I would have liked to publish it on the 6th actually...let's just say RL had a hand in it! The story is set after the 6 March 1973 concert at the Kiel Auditorium in St Louis, during the US tour of Dark Side of the Moon. I hope I haven't wronged any of the members, and I don't know if Rick was actually paying attention to birthday dates or anything like that. Roger was probably pretty annoyed on that tour though and let's not forget the famous motorbike challenge!


End file.
